The unofficial, unauthorized view of Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org. The Ancestry Insider reports on, defends, and constructively criticizes these two websites and associated topics. The author attempts to fairly and evenly support both.

In the agreements the partners were given rights to publish record collections from FamilySearch.org. “Working with individual industry leaders such as Ancestry.com, Archives.com, findmypast, Fold3, and MyHeritage will also increase and broaden access to the records FamilySearch has already published online,” said the announcement. Publication of these records on multiple websites removes barriers to family history research. The records on Ancestry.com and FindMyPast.com are available free to the general public in the 4,715 local FamilySearch-owned family history centers worldwide. “They will be available…free on Ancestry.com, findmypast.com, or MyHeritage.com to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” FamilySearch said. “Additional details regarding expanded records access will be announced sometime in 2014.”

FamilySearch clarified that not all of its records will be shared with partners. They said that contractual obligations prevent it from sharing some of its records and indexes with partners or with the general public. (I’ve written before about restricted record access. See “FamilySearch Image Restrictions.”)

The agreements included partnerships in acquiring, indexing, and publishing new record collections. “This collaboration will carve centuries off the time needed to increase access to the world’s historical records,” FamilySearch said. These collaborations will bring more financial investment than the nonprofit community alone can provide. In addition to the 5.3 billion records already obtained by FamilySearch, there are an additional 70 billion records FamilySearch would like to acquire worldwide, according to a graphic accompanying the announcement. Ten billion of those are from the Americas and Europe. The graphic also said that FamilySearch Family Tree contains about one billion people and that another 27 billion born since 1500 A.D. still need to be identified and added.

“For the top countries with the highest online research demand, using our existing resources and volunteers, it will take up to 300 years to index the 5.3 billion records that we already have,” Dennis Brimhall, FamilySearch CEO, said. “We can do significantly better by working together with other organizations and as a community.” A graphic accompanying the announcement said that collaboration would reduce that to 20 to 30 years.

Some users may view it as a downside that the indexes produced by these commercial organizations is generally done by offshore indexers. I think that is offset by accelerated access to the bulk of the records. FamillySearch.org already includes records indexed by other organizations. Most users have already come across records from Fold3 and FindMyPast with those annoying links to websites that require payment to view the images. According to FamilySearch wiki articles about their record collections, there are other indexes obtained from third parties.

FamilySearch said in April that volunteers hit the milestone of one billion records indexed with its current indexing program. This week’s announcement said that, including the earlier extraction program, volunteers had indexed over three billion records.

FamilySearch said these partnerships are but first installments removing barriers to family history research. “FamilySearch plans to involve many other interested organizations that will provide records, tools, and other resources to allow more people to build, preserve, and share their family trees online.”

I saw on another site that they were reporting that members of the LDS church will have free access to Ancestry.com full worldwide subscriptions from home. Is this true, or is this a misunderstanding? There must be some catch?

So the question remains unanswered yet as to whether the ancestry.com site will be viewable for all, for LDS only, and, if the latter, how that is to be accomplished. And what of non-LDS people who wish to use these sites on the same basis? While all are eager to use this new information, some of us are keenly aware that we have happened on a privileged spot we are grateful for but did not seek. Many of us have friends who share this passion for seeking our forefathers and foremothers out, of learning our history. We need to know what we can say to them. I would like to know, did anyone consider this?

"In February, FamilySearch.org, a nonprofit family history organization owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced that LDS Church members eventually will be granted free subscriptions to Ancestry.com, MyHeritage.com and FindMyPast.com as part of an ongoing partnership in which the companies collaborate to obtain historical records and share resources." The only folks that make out in this deal are LDS members, it appears?

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The Ancestry Insider

The Ancestry Insider is consistently a top ten and readers’ choice award winner. He has been an insider at both the two big genealogy organizations, FamilySearch and Ancestry.com. He was Time Magazine Man of the Year in both 1966 and 2006. And he really is descended from an Indian princess.

Dear Ancestry Insider, So, does Ancestry.com have access to the information I contribute to FamilySearch.org, like photos, stories, and Fami...

Biography

The Ancestry Insider was a readers’ choice for the top four genealogy news and resources blogs, part of Family Tree Magazine’s “40 Best Genealogy Blogs” for 2010. He reports on the two big genealogy organizations, Ancestry.com and FamilySearch. He was named a “Most Popular Genealogy Blogs” by ProGenealogists, and has received Family Tree Magazine’s “101 Best Web Sites” award every year since 2008. A genealogical technologist, the Insider has a post-graduate technology degree and holds a dozen technology patents in the United States and abroad. He has done genealogy since 1972 and has worked in the computer industry since 1978. He was Time Magazine Man of the Year in both 1966 and 2006. And he really is descended from an Indian princess.

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